


Reality Shattering Event

by DavidB1000



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Identity Reveal, Mild Language, Not Beta Read, Plot Twists, Reluctant friends, Surreal, Things Become Complicated, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:39:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28342536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DavidB1000/pseuds/DavidB1000
Summary: OR perhaps it's just a simple sanity shattering event? As Russ Taylor learns the greatest nightmare is the one no one would expect. A bit of a sequel to my last story, Discord and Chaos.
Comments: 31
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

“What the bloody hell? That doesn't make sense.” Russ Taylor blinked as he stared at the holographic display before him. Codex putting all it's information on a holographic storage display device may have not been a good move for Codex, but Russ was looking through it to find out everything he could about Codex, filling in all the blanks he had. This had led him to see an impossible image. An ancient picture, well, perhaps the late 1800s wasn't ancient, but it was indeed an old photo of the leader of Codex, the true leader, Leland's boss, locked away in a hidden file, buried under dozens of other files.  
He had suspected that Leland wasn't actually the boss of Codex, that there was someone behind even him. Especially with how Leland really wanted the scepter. This proved it, even if it gave him a headache to stare at the image.

It was a hauntingly familiar image. A raven-black haired woman smiling and looking happy. An impossible image. One Riley Davis. “What?” Russ blinked, and rubbed his eyes in confusion. No matter how he attempted to process the image, he just couldn't. Not without throwing everything that he knew about the world out the window.

“Well, I wondered if you'd find it.” A familiar voice spoke and Russ turned to see Riley Davis looking at him with a look of sadness.

“How? How does any of this make any sense?!” Russ winced. “That isn't possible. Is this a joke? I don't....”

Riley shrugged. “The Greeks called me Echidna. The mother of monsters. That's what I am.”  
“I doubt very much you created the Lernaean Hydra.” Russ winced.  
“Well, no.” Riley spoke, grinning. “But that's what I am. Echidna. I've always been that way, Russ. Always.” 

“The logistics of all of this are beyond insane!” Russ groaned. His head was starting to hurt.  
Riley frowned. “I'm sorry, but all this is true. I wasn't expecting the scepter to be intact after being next to someone who literally was vaporized by a failed nuclear detonation. Hell, that scepter should be freaking glowing in the dark.”

Russ winced. “It does not make any sense. How are you alive this long?”

Riley took a deep breath. “The cliff notes begin about 12,500 BC. An island sank and was ripped apart by a devastating series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This island was about 20% the size of Australia, and was located near where Krakatoa erupted. In fact, the entirety of that area of the world was once a solid island. That island was my home. You might know it's name, Atlantis.” She smiled.

Russ's eyes widened in shock. “Wait a moment. Atlantis was real?!”  
“Yes.” Riley smiled. “Now, we didn't have flying cars. We just had really good genetics programs. That was our big scientific advancement. Sadly, we were terrible at detecting volcanic eruptions. So, basically, we all died. The only reason I didn't die, was because I was thrown halfway to Sumeria by the big eruption. That and the precursor to Nanotechnology I helped develop.” Riley spoke.

“Nanotechnology 12,000 years ago!?” Russ winced. “That would make less sense than if you revealed you were an alien!” 

“Hey, now. I'm not going to probe you.” Riley smirked.  
“Haha.” Russ groaned at the joke, glad to know at least Riley's sense of humor was the same. 

“Not going to judge a person's kinks, mind you, but still.” Riley shrugged. “I can't help it. I am literally the leader of Codex. And I have been, for 750 years. I founded it after the Bubonic plague didn't do it's job correctly. I unleashed it.”

“You killed 25 million people?!” Russ grimaced. “That's insane.”

“To quote Samuel L. Jackson, I don't recall asking you a goddamn thing about your opinion on this matter.” Riley grinned.

Russ winced and Riley continued. “I can't help the fact my plan to cull humanity keeps failing. I've developed enough patience over the years to let things play out. I may have pushed a few buttons here and there, but I have standards you know. When those wacky Nazis tried to seduce me to find out if I had the Spear of Destiny I didn't humor them. I've seen it all before. That level of insanity. Hell, Caligula made Hitler look downright normal and sane and Caligula had massive brain trauma to blame.”

“I'm glad you have standards of not working with the Nazis, but this, I need a bloody minute.” Russ grumbled.  
“Want me to show you exactly what you're dealing with here, Russ?” Riley asked.  
Before Russ could answer, she walked closer to him. She reached out and lifted him into the air with one hand, above her head, a completely impossible event based on how strong a normal human was.  
Russ gasped in shock like everyone in his situation would do.  
Riley smiled up at him. “The nanotechnology experiment helped me gain a bit of strength. Not silly strength, but if I needed to pick up a car I probably could. Humans don't weigh that much, and my strength allowed me to wear armor that would prevent anyone from seeing who I was, armor that wouldn't normally fit on someone like me without some special improvements. I mean, look at my chest, it's ridiculous. I might as well be Power Girl from the comics! Well, obviously I'm not that large but still.” Riley smirked.

“Not really what I ever looked at.” Russ winced. He was completely lost here, and nothing made sense to him any more.  
Riley smiled. “I sometimes hate it. But you know, that's how it goes. Genetics. They can be a pain. Thankfully I'll never have to worry about back-pain.”  
“Can you put me down now?” Russ asked, he was not enjoying the feeling. 

Riley nodded and placed him gently down. “You're no fun, Russ.”

“I don't know how to react to any of this!” Russ winced.  
“Well, I'm sorry, but it's the truth. You found out my secret. Now, the problem is, how do I handle this? I can't quite trust you to keep this secret.” Riley spoke. “Now, should I become like the Aztecs and remove your heart?”

“I prefer it if you don't remove it.” Russ spoke.  
“You should see me in a crown, Russ. I'm going to run this nothing town.” Riley smirked and lifted one of her hands. “Also, fun fact. I may not be like Superman, but there's someone I am a lot like.”

She pointed her index finger at Russ, and a thin metal blade shot out, reaching out right in front of his eye. “Call to John now.” She smirked. 

Russ grimaced. “I hate Nanotechnology.”  
“So, I'll make you an option. It's simple. Work with me, or die by having your frontal cortex significantly disturbed.” Riley smiled.

“Can I have some time to think this offer over?” Russ winced.  
“No.” Riley smirked. “Now, make the choice.”

“I don't want my brain destroyed.” Russ grimaced.

“Well, I'm sorry that the human brain is fragile.” Riley spoke.

Russ grimaced. “Just tell me something, how much of your nanotech is in your hand blade thing?”  
“If you must know, it takes a lot of effort to focus my nanotechnology into a blade like this. I'm not actually the T-1000.” Riley grinned.

“Right. Good to know.” Russ spoke and kicked her in the shin.  
Riley winced and spoke. “That's my knee, Russ. Not everyone just folds over when they get kicked in the knee.” 

Russ spoke. “The point is, fight me fair, you should do that.”

Riley sighed, and retracted the metal blade into her body. “Alright. Fine. We can fight fair.”  
She stood firmly and Russ frowned. “Well, I'm a bit conflicted due to the whole never fight a lady thing.”

“Haha.” Riley grinned. “Fight me.” 

Russ frowned and punched Riley square in the face. His knuckles ached as though he had punched a wall.  
Riley smirked. “Looks like I've been holding back, haven't I, Russ? The deck is stacked. You can't win against me.” 

“Well, if you're going to be mean.” Russ grumbled and kicked her in the shin.  
“Ow.” Riley winced. “Look, I'm not invincible. I've been in tons of fights like I said.”

“Well, I won't go down without a fight.” Russ spoke.  
“Fine. Be that way.” Riley spoke and punched Russ across the room.  
Russ grunted as he hit the far wall. “Okay. I was not expecting that.”

“Look, you're not making it seem like keeping you alive is a good idea.” Riley spoke.  
“I will not work with Codex, and I most certainly won't work with it's ridiculously impossibly 12,000+ year old leader who has literally messed with people's minds for years.” Russ grumbled.  
“Well, yeah, I had to mess with their minds!” Riley grinned. “How else could I keep myself hidden. Hell, you caught me with my guard down by finding the scepter and doing it all in a way I couldn't just grab it in front of everyone and take it while shouting my precious.”

“If you're going to do Lord of the Rings jokes, I might as well shoot myself in the head.” Russ groaned.  
“Why? It was filmed in New Zealand, not England!” Riley smirked.

“Please, stop being a bantering super-villain.” Russ groaned.

“You're just no fun. Now, what could stop me from killing you?” Riley asked.

“No one is killing anyone. What the hell is going on?!” Matilda Webber barked as she walked into the room with a look of annoyance.


	2. Suffering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 shows Riley talking with Russ and Matilda both, and things become complicated to put it mildly.  
> Hopefully you all still like it. Also, if her nickname is Matty, why is it spelled Mattie in the captions on the show?

“Well, this is unfortunate.” Riley grinned.

Russ winced. “Damnit.”

“Seriously, someone tell me what the hell is going on here?” Matilda grumbled.

“Russ is having a bad day because he learned the truth about Codex.” Riley grinned.

“That's actually correct.” Russ spoke, thrown through a loop by Riley saying that.

“And that caused you and Riley to have a fight?” Matilda asked, not quite certain how to deal with this.

“Yes.” Riley spoke.  
“Why?” Matilda asked.

Russ frowned. “Because I found the identity of the true leader of Codex, Leland's boss so to speak. They've been there since the beginning.” 

“Codex was founded 750 years ago, Russ. No one alive now could be alive then.” Matilda spoke.

“I am aware, Mattie, but it's true.” Russ frowned. “It's even worse than that though.”  
“I'm extremely skeptical of that for many many obvious reasons.” Matilda spoke firmly. She had no clue why Russ was claiming such an absurd thing.  
“Believe me, I wish it wasn't true. I really hope this is a nightmare.” Russ spoke.

Riley grinned. “I'm too old to be spin-doctoring anything here, Russ, but I'm going to go and leave you to explain to the rest of the group.”  
“Explain this to me now, I'm losing patience.” Matilda spoke firmly.  
Riley smirked. “You don't intimidate me, Mattie. You're not Torquemada of the Spanish Inquisition after all.” 

“I don't want to be Torquemada, thank you.” Matilda spoke firmly. She was slightly thrown by how at ease Riley seemed to be right now, and how she didn't seem to want to respect Matilda. That alone was disorientating to say the least.

Riley shrugged. “Look, at the end of the day, I had plans, and they got derailed. Thankfully I made a back-up plan. I just have to leave here and set it up. Don't worry, Russ will explain everything.”

Russ winced. “Please stop her from leaving.”  
Riley smirked. “The point here, Mattie, is I told Russ the truth, and he freaked out.”  
“What is the truth then?” Matilda asked.

“It started over 12,000 years ago.” Riley spoke.  
Russ frowned and Matilda looked at Riley with concern. “What happened over 12,000 years ago?”

“I lost my civilization.” Riley looked sad for a moment. “Atlantis was real. I was the only survivor when the entire island was destroyed due to our inability to detect when the volcano was going to erupt. The only reason I survived was what modern humans call nanotechnology. In a more augmented manner than they currently have. Like I said, I lost everything. I lost my family. I lost my wife and my son.” 

“Your wife?!” Russ blinked.  
“I'm bisexual. Not that important to be fair. That's why I didn't bring it up until now. Wasn't really a big deal.” Riley grinned.

Matilda frowned. “Did someone give me LSD?”  
“No. This is not a hallucination.” Riley spoke. “This is the truth. This is why Russ's entire world view was shattered. Because I am that old. Also, I founded Codex 750 years ago.”

“To be fair, the Atlantis thing was easier to swallow.” Russ groaned.

“So, let me get this straight, you're suddenly over 12,000 years old, and then you founded Codex. What Bizarro universe am I in right now?” Matilda spoke.

“See, this is why I hate explaining my story. Everyone thinks I'm crazy.” Riley grinned.  
“You created an evil organization to cull human population. That is pretty crazy.” Russ groaned.  
“It's not my fault all my plans fall apart.” Riley grinned.

“Shouldn't you take that as a sign you're not supposed to succeed?” Russ groaned.

“Oh, bite me, Russ.” Riley smirked. “This is my history. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go prepare for the whole cliché good guys try to fight me and end up getting defeated in the end.”

Matilda winced. “I'm going to need some time to get used to all of this. It doesn't make any sense at all.”

“I know it doesn't make sense.” Riley smirked. “But it's still true. Nanotechnology is a great gift.”  
“You tricked everyone. That's the most absurd part about all of this.” Matilda spoke firmly.

“You know what they say, Mattie. Never bullshit a bullshitter.” Riley grinned. “So, why would I lie to you?”

Matilda grimaced at Riley's swearing. “Putting aside the nightmare this brings, what makes you think I won't have you stopped from leaving?”

“Because I'll kill everyone you throw at me.” Riley spoke firmly and her voice and tone made it obvious she was telling the truth and would do exactly that.

Matilda felt uncomfortable. This was a new and different Riley, and honestly, this Riley slightly worried her. More than most people she had dealt with.

“Oh, and one other thing, this is the last time we'll be able to meet as friends. Next time we'll be fighting against each other, and well, I know Kung Fu.” Riley shrugged. “It's nothing personal.”

“This is a hell of a shock here.” Matilda winced. “How do I accept any of this?”  
“I know.” Riley spoke. “But it's the truth. The harsh truth of the matter was neither you or Russ was on my list of people to spare when I culled humanity.” 

Russ winced. “Look, leave and we will fight you at a later date.”

“Well, I'm not happy with how things turned out, but my plans have back-ups. Time to use them to my advantage.” Riley spoke and headed towards the door. “I don't look forward to this, but hey, these things happen.”

“Look, Riley. You know this is going to be a shock to everyone.” Matilda spoke.  
“I know. Mentally manipulating Jack to give him false memories, hiring Elwood to play my father. Everything I did, it was all for my full plans. I guess you could say my motivations are beyond your understanding.” Riley grinned.

“Riley, please.” Russ groaned.  
“I'm not stopping my plans. I'm truly sorry, but the next time we meet we will be enemies.” Riley spoke.

She walked through the door and left.  
“What do we do?” Russ frowned. “We can't really stop her right now.”

“I'm not willing to risk anyone's life here. She honestly scares me a bit. This level of deception for years, this complete control and manipulation? It's something I was never trained for.” Matilda frowned.  
“How do you defeat someone who has been around for all of civilization just about? She's been there long enough to see every single trick we could use.” Russ frowned. “Our only saving grace is her plans have failed.”

Matilda took a deep breath. “For something this insane, we need someone who is equally insane.”  
“I'm not sure I follow.” Russ spoke.

“I'm going to need to make some calls. Can you get Mac, Desi, and Bozer in for a meeting.” Matilda spoke. “As insane as this is, it's the truth, and that's what really scares me. I can sense Riley wasn't lying. She's not that type of person. To lie, even about something like this.”

“I know. That's why it scared me when she showed me her actual power. You missed her holding me over her head with one hand.” Russ shivered.

“As long as she doesn't go full Akira, we should be fine.” Matilda spoke.  
“I wasn't aware you knew Anime.” Russ chuckled.  
“We're all full of surprises. Riley more than anyone else.” Matilda spoke.  
“Indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Matilda is having a bad day alright. :P  
> She's honestly in shock from the whole thing, and that's understandable. I mean, no one can really react to learning that a normal person fooled them and was secretly evil. Or genocide happy. one of the two.
> 
> Riley still respects a lot of people as she'll show in later stories. When I get to write them.


	3. Help Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's here at long last! The third chapter, which basically doubles the length of the story.  
> In it we see MacGyver, Bozer, and Desi being told the truth by a combination of Russ, Matilda, and Riley herself via a monitor.  
> Then after trying to deal with the revelation, Mac gets a surprise visit by Murdoc, who decides to help them against Riley.
> 
> Mostly because Riley even scares him.

An hour later...

“We're here, Mattie.” Bozer spoke as he walked into the room, followed by MacGyver and Desi.  
“I'm glad you're here. We've got some really bad news to deliver.” Russ spoke.

“Well, couldn't the bad news wait a little while?” Bozer grinned.

“Unfortunately, it can't.” Matilda spoke.  
“Alright, what's the bad news?” MacGyver asked.

Russ took a deep breath. “I have discovered an unfortunate truth. Leland was not the boss of Codex, there was one above him. The actual rule. The person behind the throne, so to speak.”

“Okay, and that's the reason you called us in? It's a surprise, sure, but I'm not sure why you're treating it as it is as huge an issue as you say it is.” Desi spoke.  
“That's because we know the identity of this person. This leader, who has been leading Codex since the beginning.” Matilda spoke.

“It was founded 750 years ago, no one could be alive that long.” MacGyver spoke.

“Not without looking like the knight from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at least.” Bozer spoke.  
Russ frowned. “I honestly wish we were dealing with the Holy Grail here. It would be simpler.” 

“Much simpler and less confusing.” Matilda frowned. “It's not an easy thing to say this.”

“Hey, why is Riley not here? You think this would be something you'd tell her too.” Bozer asked.

“Yeah, where is Riley?” MacGyver asked.  
“Here I am.” Riley spoke as she appeared on the computer screen. “Come on, I made the security system here, Mattie.” 

“Right.” Russ winced.

“So, what's going on?” MacGyver asked.  
“Well, you see, I told Russ the truth, and it broke his mind.” Riley grinned.

“That's not quite fair.” Russ winced.  
Matilda grimaced. “It should have broken my mind too, but the CIA literally has a file on vampires...so...yeah.”

MacGyver spoke. “You know, that doesn't even surprise me about the CIA, but why is Riley somewhere else, and not here?”

“You see, Mac, here's the truth. About 12,500 years ago, Atlantis was real.” Riley spoke.  
“I don't see what that would have to do with Codex, but okay, let's go with that.” MacGyver spoke, confused by Riley's starting the story like that.

“Cliff notes was it was destroyed by volcanic eruptions and catastrophic earthquakes. I know this, because I was a scientist back then. Working on Nanotechnology. We were not that far advanced compared to you now. Just a hundred years or so. Our downfall came because we never did any kind of advancements into the field of earthquake detection, or volcanic eruption detection. My civilization was killed by our own terrible research programs.”

“So, Riley is over 12,000 years old. Wow. That's something else alright.” Bozer spoke. “Doesn't make a lick of sense. Is this some sort of weird joke, Riley?”  
“Riley, I'm very skeptical of all this.” MacGyver spoke. “You can understand that.”  
“I know. I don't care about you being skeptical of this because it's the truth.” Riley spoke. “I have no reason to lie to any of you.” 

“That's a bit mean.” MacGyver spoke. “Look, even if you were 12,000 years old, it doesn't explain why Russ and Mattie here are worried about the true leader of Codex.”

Riley smiled. “Mac, I have always cared for you, but I know you're not an idiot. You can easily connect the dots here. Even if you don't want to.”

Desi frowned. “I think I understand. I don't want that to be true though.”

“You're the leader of Codex.” MacGyver spoke simply, despite how insane the words were to say. He knew that it was the truth, no matter how absurd it was.

“Yep.” Riley grinned. “I founded Codex exactly when Leland said. 750 years ago.”

“Riley....” MacGyver began, not even sure how to formulate the words he wanted to say. He honestly was expecting to wake up in a few minutes and all this was a nightmare.

“Look, gentlemen, and ladies, the point being, I am the leader of Codex. The next time we all meet, I won't hold back, and I will profoundly kick your ass. Russ can show you exactly what I am capable of.” Riley spoke.

“Riley. How? Why? You have to explain this.” MacGyver spoke.

“My motivations are beyond your understanding.” Riley grinned. “It's not something simple like wanting everyone to worship me as a God.”

“I'm glad, but why be like this at all?” MacGyver asked. “This doesn't begin to make a lick of sense.”

“What doesn't begin to make a lick of sense is how your Aunt Gwyn looks like Seven of Nine if she aged 20 years.” Riley grinned. “Or how Leland looks like Jigsaw from the Saw movies.”

MacGyver winced. “Look, Riley, please, regardless of my aunt, can you please explain how any of this makes sense?”

“Maybe I will, but for right now you have to understand, Mac, no good villain reveals all their plans right away.” Riley spoke. “I just wish I could have brought you to my side, Mac. It would have been great. Your mother's plans were instrumental to my success, after all these years, but even I understood the Yellowstone plan wasn't foolproof. Your aunt sacrificing herself had a small chance of being in vain, and for that, I do apologize.” Riley frowned.

MacGyver felt a bit conflicted by Riley's information she just shared and stayed silent.  
Desi frowned. “I regret being your friend.”  
“That's a bit harsh.” Riley grinned. “Man, you all would have loved to meet my wife back on Atlantis.”   
Bozer's eyes widened a bit. “Okay. That is a surprise.”

“I don't need to wear a shirt saying, 'I'm Bi-sexual and I'm Bi-winning', Bozer.” Riley grinned.  
“Oh, and we're referring to Charlie Sheen now.” Russ winced.

“I think that is a bit less strange than Riley being the leader of Codex.” MacGyver groaned, honestly wondering if he was having some sort of fever dream.  
“I know it hurts, MacGyver, being what I am, and what it means to you specifically, but if you had truly joined Codex, I would have revealed myself to you. When you look back at it, you can see how some of the signs were there.” Riley spoke.

“Riley...” MacGyver began.

“Save the words for when we meet in person, Mac. I don't want to fight, but it's going to be nearly impossible to get you two on my side without causing some chaos.” Riley grinned.  
“Don't be like this, please.” Bozer spoke. “You're our friend.”

“Sorry, Bozer, it's how it is.” Riley spoke. “The good news, I always wanted to keep you safe.”  
“Riley, please.” MacGyver spoke.

“I'm sorry, but the next time we meet, we will be enemies.” Riley spoke. “Don't worry, I have faith, so to speak, you'll come around.”  
“Riley. This really isn't something I can handle.” MacGyver spoke.  
“Sure you can. The Greeks called me Echidna. The Mother of Monsters. That's what I am. I'll explain more when we meet in person.” Riley spoke. “I'll leave it up to you all to find me.”  
She vanished from the screen.

“Great. That went well. 10/10. Best reveal ever” Bozer groaned and put his head in his hands.  
“I'm really sorry, Bozer.” Matilda spoke

“We need to alert Deanna. Just in case.” Russ spoke.

“Yeah....” Bozer frowned. “I don't know what to do here. None of this makes sense.”  
“I don't even know where to begin.” MacGyver spoke. “Seriously, I have nothing. This is beyond my area of expertise.” 

Russ spoke. “At the very least according to what Riley said to me, she is only capable of picking up a small car.”  
“So, Nanotechnology is plot convenience?” Desi asked. Like the others she had no clue how to make sense of all this craziness.

MacGyver frowned. “That's actually a good way to look at it. Advanced nanotechnology would allow someone to have augmented strength.”

“So I take it shooting her would be just mildly irritating to her?” Desi grumbled.  
“I wouldn't use small arms fire, no. Pistols would just annoy her like bee stings.” Russ spoke. “I would break out the Barret .50 cal. It might make her stop and reconsider her life choices.”

“Even with her being the leader of Codex, which is literally more insane than her being from Atlantis, I don't feel comfortable with having Riley be shot.” MacGyver frowned. He still needed all the answers Riley could give him.  
“I don't want to do that, but I don't think she's going to come quietly and honestly, she scares the crap out of me.” Russ spoke.

“She scares me, and that says something.” Matilda spoke. “The more she talks, the more she shows her inhumanity so to speak.”

&^&

The next day...

“Well, hello there, MacGyver.” A disturbing voice spoke.  
MacGyver's eyes twitched and he turned on the nearest light switch to see Murdoc staring at him from a chair. This was not how he wanted the day to go.

“I don't have time for this, Murdoc. I don't know how you escaped prison again, but I've had a bad day yesterday, and you here, it's very minor in comparison, which is saying something.” MacGyver groaned.

“I guess Riley must have revealed her plans to you all then. I was a little thrown through a loop when she told me part of it.” Murdoc spoke.  
“Right, of course she freed you to drive me insane.” MacGyver groaned.

Murdoc grinned. “To be fair, I only agreed because well, she makes me kind of nervous, and that's not a good thing. I should not be made nervous by Riley Davis of all people.”  
“She's killed more people than you, that's for certain.” MacGyver winced.

Murdoc grinned again. “It's not a contest!” 

“Seriously. why are you here?” MacGyver asked.

“To help you our for once. I managed to get some information from my brief time with her after she rescued me.” Murdoc spoke.

“I'm pretty sure you couldn't even kill her.” MacGyver spoke.  
“Oh, I don't doubt I'd lose in a fight with her, she made that obvious when she broke my very secure solid steel handcuffs like they were cheap plastic.” Murdoc spoke. “The fact that she unnerved me, MacGyver, should tell you something.”

“Yeah, I'm more scared of Riley than you right now. Everyone is freaked out by this.” MacGyver spoke.

“I don't blame you. I did learn something interesting. There seems to be a weak spot from what I've seen. A crack in her armor.” Murdoc spoke.

“What crack is that?” MacGyver asked.

“I observe a lot of things happening at the same time, and she apparently never realized that about me when I was at her base. I saw notes, and books. I saw the one thing that she has that can swing things to your side.” Murdoc spoke.

“And that is?” MacGyver asked.  
“Her son.” Murdoc spoke.

“He died when Atlantis was destroyed, 12,500 years ago.” MacGyver spoke. No matter how insane the words were, he knew them to be the truth. Riley was not going to lie to him, which made his feelings conflicted for certain.

“Her first son, yes, but she had other children. And one of them is still alive and well. He's not even that old.” Murdoc spoke.

“Okay, so you think kidnapping her son would cause her to come quietly?” MacGyver spoke. “You're the same old Murdoc.”

“I can't change too much.” Murdoc grinned. “But I will help you.”

“At this point, I'm willing to believe anything.” MacGyver groaned.  
“Her son is Agent James Benedict with the FBI.” Murdoc spoke.

“That's a surprise.” MacGyver spoke. “With how all this was revealed, I would expect her newest son to be Omar Qaddafi.”   
“That's pretty mean.” Murdoc grinned.

&^&

“So, we're going to trust Murdoc now of all people?” Bozer winced.  
“I agreed to have myself tied up again.” Murdoc grinned and tried to move the heavy bindings against his arms.  
Bozer frowned.  
Russ took a deep breath. “I hate to say it, but taking his advice might be a good idea for right now. We need a leg up on Riley, and getting her son to come over here for a friendly visit might not be the worst idea.”  
“If anything to avoid having to hurt Riley.” MacGyver spoke.

“I'd think you'd be irritated by Riley's betrayal the most.” Murdoc grinned. “She explained enough about the situation when she freed me that I know why you would be hurt the most.”  
“That may be the case, but I need answers.” MacGyver frowned. “As the old adage goes, better to go with the devil you know than the devil you don't.”

“What I hate about all of this is how are we going to do this.” Desi spoke. “I don't like how Riley has tricked us, but I feel as though we shouldn't press our luck.”

“That is why we are going to ask Agent James to come visit with us. He almost certainly has no clue about his real mother.” Matilda spoke as she walked into the room.

“Hello, Mattie!” Murdoc grinned.   
Matilda glared at Murdoc strong enough to make even him flinch slightly.

“The main question here, is what do we do, once we get him here?” MacGyver asked.

“We'll call Riley and tell her we have her son.” Matilda spoke.  
“I hope this all works out for you. I may be evil, but Riley scares me, and I don't scare easily. That should tell you something.” Murdoc spoke firmly.

MacGyver shivered. That was not something he had expected to hear from Murdoc at all.

&^&

The next day...

Riley looked at her cell phone with surprise when it rang. “Well, this is a surprise.” She spoke as she answered it, after seeing the name listed.  
“We have your son.” Matilda spoke.  
“You built a time machine and went back in time to Atlantis?” Riley chuckled.  
“No, your most recent son. FBI Agent James Benedict.” Matilda spoke.

Riley frowned. “How did you figure that out?”  
“Strangely enough, Murdoc.” Matilda spoke.  
Riley grumbled. “Great. What do you want exactly?”

“We just want to talk. In person.” Matilda spoke. “We need to talk. You know that.”

Riley frowned. “If you promise to not take out your frustrations on my son, I'll do that.”

“We're not monsters, Riley.” Matilda spoke.  
Riley spoke firmly. “No, you're not me after all. He doesn't know who I am, he was adopted into his current family. Kind of a needed thing now a days.”

“You can set up a place to meet with you, but we all just want to talk. No tricks.” Matilda spoke.  
“Alright. Fine.” Riley spoke. “I'll call you later with the location.”

She hung up and grumbled. “Well, that was an unexpected twist.”  
She punched the nearest wall, damaging the concrete hard enough to cause several major cracks to appear radiating away from the punch.  
'FUCK.” Riley growled. Her anger was something she had long ago tempered, but a few things could set it off even after all these years.

Riley looked at the desk she had been sitting at, took a deep breath, and sat down. “Alright, you guys want to play hardball. Get my son involved. I'll show you exactly why you shouldn't mess with my family. Time to get Jack here. Teach them a lesson there.” She chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slowly writing more and more on this story. Let me know what else you might want.  
> Also, poor Mac. He has no real clue how to even deal with all the crap that happened.


	4. Hellish Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Riley shows that her humor was not an act, also she brings Jack into the mix by having him kidnapped. Then later, we see that Desi has a darkness of her own, as she orchestrates a plan to defeat Riley, even though it does fail.  
> Riley is injured, and shows that she most certainly doesn't like being shot in the face. But I think most people wouldn't like that.

Jack was not having a good day.  
He had been kidnapped by a group of people, in a surprise attack, while he was asleep, and currently he had a hood over his head.

“Worst joke ever, guys.” Jack spoke firmly.  
“Perhaps.” A familiar voice spoke and his hood was removed.  
His eyes took a moment to recover and then he saw Riley staring at him.

“Riley? Did I forget to get you a Christmas gift?” Jack grinned.

“Heh.” Riley smiled. “Same old Jack. No, you see, my secret plans for World Domination were foiled.” 

Jack spoke. “Seriously, why have me kidnapped here?”

“Sadly, Mac, and the others learned the truth about me. So, they're going to try to use my son against me.” Riley grumbled.

“Uh. What?” Jack blinked, his eyes widening.

“Right, the false memories I gave you are a bit conflicting for you.” Riley chuckled. “Can't quite remove them, since that's going to seriously injure your cognitive functions.” 

Jack winced. “That doesn't make any sense here. You're killing me, here, Riles.” 

“I don't want to kill you, no, but the gang needs to be reminded of who I am. Echidna, the Mother of Monsters as the Greeks called me.” Riley smiled.

Jack frowned. “Riley, I need to know what's going on. You're freaking me out.”   
“I know I'm freaking you out, and honestly, I always respected you, Jack. Even before altering your memories to have you think you watched me grow up.” Riley spoke.

“Riley. We don't have the technology to do that. That's not a thing, really.” Jack spoke.

“You're right, no one here has that technology. Except for me.” Riley grinned. “I'm from Atlantis, Jack. I'm 12,500 years old, thanks to nanotechnology that I invented. We were only slightly more advanced than America is right now. About a hundred years.”

“Sure, that makes sense. Riley, are you on drugs?” Jack winced.  
“Heh.” Riley chuckled and extended a finger. A thin blade of metal slowly rose from it, coming to a stop right in front of Jack's eye. “Now, I don't think I need to tell you to call to John, do I?”

Jack grimaced. “Okay. I believe you now. Atlantis was real. You're very flipping old.”   
“Also, I'm secretly the leader of Codex, that lovable secret group dedicated to trying to cull humanity.” Riley smiled.

“I don't know what that is, but it sounds bad.” Jack winced.

Riley grinned, retracted the blade, and picked up the phone. She dialed a number, when the person on the other end answered, she spoke firmly. “You have my son, I have Jack. Never underestimate me.”

“Damn it, Riley. This isn't right.” Bozer shivered, not that Riley could see it, at least he hoped she couldn't.  
“Hey, blame Mattie.” Riley spoke.  
“Look. Don't hurt Jack. Please.” Bozer spoke. “Mac's still in shock, but I don't want to see him get into the anger phase here. You know how he reacted when he learned about his dad.”

“I am aware, Bozer. Tell Mattie to meet us in the basement where Oversight's jeep almost exploded.” Riley spoke.  
“Yeah, we all remember that one.” Bozer spoke.  
“Regardless, that's where Jack and I will be.” Riley spoke and hung up.

“I really don't know how to react to all this, Riles.” Jack winced.

“I don't blame you.” Riley spoke. “But I need you as a bargaining chip since they want to try to mess with my son.”

“The fact that you have a son is less bizarre now that I know you're very old. You sure look good for your age of 12,500.” Jack spoke.

“Nanotechnology is great.” Riley grinned. “Even if America's version of it is still far away from mine. I lost my entire civilization in a day of nightmares as volcanoes and earthquakes destroyed my world. I was thrown half-way to Sumeria. From where modern day Jakarta, Indonesia.” 

“Okay, that's a hell of a distance to be blasted. Nearly 2500 miles.” Jack winced. “You must have been right on top of a volcano when it erupted for that to even happen.”

“Yeah, some wacky stuff happened that day.” Riley frowned and got lost in memories for a moment. “I lost my family, my wife and my first son.” 

Jack blinked slightly. “You know, that part of your past doesn't even register as a surprise compared to the other bits.” 

“I know. The whole gang would have liked to meet her.” Riley spoke. “I wandered alone for so long. I've had many children, but they never ended up being anything special. Just good children who all died of natural causes for the most part. I've been around for a long long time, Jack. I've seen humanity rise. Which is why I know based on everything that's happened, from the beginnings, to now a days, that culling a large amount of the world's population is going to be what's needed.” 

“I can't understand the nightmare you lived, but Riley, please, there's no need to be like this.” Jack spoke.

“Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you.” Riley spoke. “I may have brought forth the Bubonic Plague, but I am not going to harm you.” 

“I could have lived without that knowledge.” Jack winced.

&^&

A few hours later...

“We sure about this?” MacGyver asked.  
“I'm not 100% certain about any plan here, but Mac, be extremely careful.” Russ spoke.

“I will.” MacGyver spoke.

He turned away from Russ and walked down the parking garage. When he spotted Riley and Jack, he relaxed slightly. “I come in peace, Riley.” 

“Well, yeah, you're not going to shoot first and ask questions later.” Riley grinned. “Even with what I did.”

“I just want Jack safe.” MacGyver spoke.

“I always wondered if you two had something.” Riley grinned.  
Jack chuckled despite the situation. “I'm just glad that despite everything her sense of humor is the same.”

“That is honestly some relief, yes.” MacGyver spoke. Knowing that part of the Riley standing before him was the same as the Riley he knew, was making him feel a bit of relief for certain.  
“Look, Jack is fine. You guys grabbed my son. Thought you could use him against me.” Riley grumbled.

“All we're doing is talking with him. He doesn't know about you or any of this.” MacGyver spoke.

“I know he doesn't know about me, but he's still my son. You don't go after my children. I will not let that happen ever. You let him go and don't bother him, and I will deescalate the situation on my end. I'll move back the Doomsday clock a few minutes.” Riley spoke.

“Riley. I'm sorry about this. This wasn't how I expected things to work out. I promise, your son is fine.” MacGyver spoke.

&^&

An extremely far distance away, Murdoc looked through the scope of an anti-material rifle and spoke firmly. “Despite everything, even I don't like this plan.” 

“Just shut up and fire when I do.” Desi spoke, standing a few feet away from him with another anti-material rifle aimed at Riley's head.

&^&

“Look, give me Jack, alright.” MacGyver spoke.  
Riley shrugged. “If you promise to let my son go, sure, have him.”   
Jack walked over to Mac and spoke. “Not quite how I expected our reunion to go.”

“Yeah. I know.” MacGyver frowned. “I can't believe what's happening.”

Riley smiled. “Have a good day. Don't do the entire Volleyball scene from Top Gun!” 

“Haha.” Jack spoke.   
“Honestly, the way you switch moods is more scary than the fact you created Codex and were indirectly responsible for my father's death.” MacGyver frowned. “I don't think I'm ever going to make sense of this.” 

“I've lived for 12,500 years, Mac, I am more than human in many aspects.” Riley spoke.

As MacGyver and Jack walked away, Riley looked up and towards them. “Hey. What are you guys planning?”

“What?” MacGyver asked, and then stumbled backwards in surprise as Riley suddenly was thrown backwards a hundred feet by something exploding against her face.. The echoes of the gunshots struck his ears a moment later and he gasped. “What the hell did you guys do?!”

“Don't look at me!” Jack gasped. “What the hell was that?”  
“An Anti-Material rifle.” MacGyver spoke. “The explosions from the impact. That's a dead give away.”

“Who fires an anti-material rifle at a human being? That's a freaking war crime.” Jack winced.  
“Murdoc.” MacGyver spoke firmly. “He said something about how Riley actually scared him.”

Jack grimaced. “Why the hell did you guys work with Murdoc exactly?”

“Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't.” MacGyver winced. “Damnit.”

A voice spoke. “Alright, now I'm just mad.”  
MacGyver turned slightly and saw Riley stand up. He recoiled at the condition she was in.  
Riley's voice chords seemed to be the only part of her head and neck not severely damaged.

Her eyes had burst in their sockets and were also rapidly healing from the explosive force directed against them. The optic nerves regrew slowly as he watched, and seemed to stare at him, as if it personally was angry at them.  
Her jaw seemed the least damaged and he could see through her skin in several spots, creating what looked like a macabre Halloween costume.  
She grimaced in pain. “That hurt like Hell.”   
“I had nothing to do with that. Murdoc....” MacGyver spoke.

“I know you didn't agree to blow me up.” Riley grimaced.  
“You should run for now. There's no doubt they'll be shooting you again.” MacGyver spoke.

“Oh, don't worry. The nice thing about me is I adapt. Not quite like the Borg, but I do adapt.” Riley grumbled and the wounds on her face healed.

Jack had looked away the first time he saw the damage to her face, and now he looked back up at her healed face. “I don't....I don't know what to say or do here.” 

“Run.” Riley spoke. “It's time for me to show Murdoc why the phrase Murder, Death, Kill was invented.” 

She rushed forward, running past MacGyver and Jack, and continuing on one path. The speed at which she traveled threw MacGyver through a loop.

&^&

“Uh-Oh.” Murdoc winced.  
“Prepare to die!” Riley spoke, reaching Murdoc in less than 5 seconds. The distance she traveled was nearly 1000 feet. She grabbed him by his neck and lifted him into the air. “I'm going to rip your spine out!” 

“I get that, but I didn't come up with this plan.” Murdoc grimaced.

“Even Mattie wouldn't okay this plan.” Riley spoke.

“I made this plan.” Desi spoke and rammed a knife into Riley's side.  
“AGHH!” Riley grimaced and recoiled, dropping Murdoc. “Damnit! I can still feel pain, you maniac.”

“You're the maniac. You proved you're a monster unrelenting. I don't know how you survived that, but you're not invincible.” Desi spoke.

“The only thing that can kill me is a nuclear bomb, Desi. I don't think you brought one of those for obvious reasons!” Riley growled and yanked out the knife.   
“Now.” Desi spoke.

“You're not my boss!” Murdoc winced and pulled out a small pistol and fired it quickly at Riley.  
“AGHHH!” Riley growled and stumbled back. 

He shot her again and again, and she stumbled back each time, eventually standing against a wall. “You can't win against me like this. I'm not lying about the nuke. You have to destroy every single nanomachine in my body at the same time to kill me and keep me dead.” Riley snapped.

“You're bragging more than I would.” Murdoc spoke. “If we can do enough damage, we can stop you long enough to lock you up.”

“I've been burnt at the stake, Murdoc. This is freaking nothing in comparison.” Riley chuckled.  
Desi grumbled and pulled out an even larger knife and jammed it into Riley's neck.

Riley's eyes widened in shock. Desi kept a firm hold on the knife. “Let's see you regenerate when the knife is still in the wound.” 

Riley grimaced, incapable of speaking at the current moment.   
“What the hell are you two doing?!” MacGyver yelled as he ran up to the scene.

“Getting rid of a monster that makes Murdoc look like a pacifist who would never hurt anyone.” Desi spoke.

“You're not wrong.” Murdoc winced.  
“Desi. What the hell is going on with you? There is no reason to kill Riley!” MacGyver spoke.

“She betrayed all of us! She caused you so much suffering, and heartbreak, and you'll never hurt her, because you're too nice!” Desi spoke.

“Desi. Please.” Jack spoke as he walked up. “This isn't like you.”

“I guess we all have our own darkness then.” Desi spoke and tore the knife out violently, only to ram it in again.  
Jack and MacGyver rushed over and dragged Desi away.  
“Let me go!”

Murdoc saw his chance and fired the small pistol directly at Riley's forehead.  
She grunted at the impact and reached her hands up to her neck. She held her hand against the side of the room, and moved her other hand over to touch the wall behind her.

She pushed her fingers into the concrete, and a moment later, she gasped as her wound healed. She stumbled away from the wall, and the wall crumbled significantly. Parts of it turned to dust and rubble.

“Damn. That was bad.” Riley spoke. “Alright. No more Ms. Nice Riley.”  
She raised her hand. “You want to know something interesting about Cyanide? All it's component molecules are found in the human body.” 

She then shot out a small thin blade that jabbed Desi in the shoulder. She winced in pain.

“Better get her the cure for Cyanide before it becomes too late. You have 1 minute 30 seconds. Maybe more, maybe less.” Riley smirked.

MacGyver winced. “Riley!”

“Don't delay, Mac.” Riley spoke. “An eye for an eye. I live up to it very well. A death for a death, so to speak.”

Desi grimaced. “I feel fine enough.”

“Let's get you out of here though.” MacGyver spoke.

“Yes, I feel as though leaving me here might be the best idea.” Murdoc winced.

“Oh I am so going to enjoy ripping your heart out and eating it. I haven't done that in a thousand years.” Riley growled. “You want to kill me, Mac, you better bring a freaking nuclear bomb.”

MacGyver winced and dragged Desi off, difficultly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you want more in this story.  
> Also, I can treat Jack better than the people behind this show. Seriously....WTF.  
> Everyone is slowly fading out of being in shock.


	5. That Which Eternal Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 is here! This chapter deals with the aftermath of the Desi & Murdoc fight against Riley, including Murdoc suffering critical existence failure via Riley pulling a Kali Ma on him. :P  
> Then we see that the fight did take a lot out of Riley. We get Patricia Thorton to join as well. Boy, prisons don't hold people very well. Are they all run by Arkham Asylum? :P

Desi started coughing violently by the time they got her into their medical room.  
She gasped and wheezed and then clutched at her throat. Her eyes widened in shock and horror as she realized Riley wasn't messing around.

“Hold on!” MacGyver spoke and rushed to find the doctor.  
A moment later, Desi was gasping and choking even harder, and a doctor rushed into the room and jammed something into her arm.

A painful moment later, Desi started to get control of her breathing.  
“Okay. Now we have to know the full extent of the damage the Cyanide caused.” The doctor frowned. “This could be really nasty.” 

&^&

While that was happening, Riley was throwing Murdoc around like a ping-pong ball.

“Ow.” Murdoc grunted as he hit a wall for the third time.  
“Oh, I am so going to enjoy this.” Riley spoke. “Come on, stand up, try to fight me!” 

“Give me a second.” Murdoc grimaced and stood up shakily.  
Riley smirked. “You should see me in a crown, Murdoc, I'm going to run this nothing town. Your silence is my favorite sound.”

Murdoc winced. “Great, I'm going to be killed after hearing a Billie Eilish song from you.”

“Hey, glad to know you heard her songs before!” Riley smirked. “Now, let's stop playing around, and let's get to the heart eating.”

Murdoc winced again. “I won't go gently into that good night.”

Riley smirked and walked over quickly to Murdoc and punched her hand into his chest. She grabbed his heart. The sensation was surreal for Murdoc.

Murdoc gasped slightly and Riley spoke. “Say my name.”  
“Echidna.” Murdoc spoke.

“You're goddamn right.” Riley grinned and yanked his heart out of his chest.  
He collapsed dead and she bit into it. “Ew. I forgot how weird it tastes. Oh, well, no need to waste it.”   
She walked down the hallway she had chased him into, and out a door. “See you all later.” 

&^&

“Damn.” Bozer spoke as he watched over Desi.  
“I underestimated both Riley and Desi.” MacGyver frowned. “Now Desi is paying for it dearly.”

Matilda walked into the medical room and spoke. “Well, we found Murdoc in a service tunnel. Missing his heart.”   
Bozer grimaced at the news.  
MacGyver winced. “This really isn't good. Riley is even more angry at us now.”  
“How is Desi?” Matilda asked.

“Better than expected, but she's going to need a lot of treatment.” MacGyver spoke.  
“I can't believe this happened.” Bozer frowned.

“Do we even know what possessed Desi to do this?” Matilda asked. “To attempt to kill Riley, it just doesn't seem like her.”

“I don't know. When she wakes up, maybe she can tell us.” MacGyver spoke.

As if on cue, Desi groaned and opened her eyes. “What hit me?” She gasped out.

“Cyanide poisoning.” MacGyver spoke.  
“Oh, damn.” Desi groaned. “Riley wasn't joking.”

“No, she wasn't.” MacGyver frowned.  
Desi tried to get up.  
“You need to rest.” MacGyver spoke. “And when you do get better, you need to tell me why you thought attempting to kill Riley was a good idea.”

Desi winced. “She betrayed all of us, and she hurt you, and your family, Mac.”

“I know that, and while I am upset with her, I still would not try to kill her!” MacGyver spoke firmly.

&^&

“Here there be dragons.” Riley grumbled in aggravation. She leaned against a wall back in her base.  
“I need to recover fully, and there's only one way to do that.”   
She picked up a phone and dialed a number. “Hello, there.” She spoke when the person on the other end answered. 

“Well, this is unexpected. What do you want, Riley?” The woman's voice spoke.

“Two things. I need someone to absorb, bring them to my base, and secondly, I need your help to cause chaos with the gang. They need you to throw them through a loop. So, what do you say, Patricia Thorton? Ready to cause havoc?” Riley asked.

“Certainly.” Patricia chuckled.

“Good. Now I only have one more phone call.” Riley spoke and hung up. Only to dial another number a moment later.   
When the person on the other end answered, she spoke. “Hello there, Leland. Boy did I ever have a wild and crazy day.”

&^&

Around 30 minutes later, a man walked into the main room at Riley's base.  
“Hello.” He spoke timidly. 

“Hi.” Riley smiled and walked over to the man. “I want you to know, this won't really hurt.”   
She hugged him and moved her fingers slightly. Tiny needles shot into his torso all over.  
His eyes widened and he gasped.   
“Shh.” Riley spoke. “Your sacrifice is needed.”

A moment later, the man's body crumbled to dust, and Riley frowned. “I hate having to do that, but it's needed. I need to reinforce myself, and this was the only way. Despite what people may think of me, I am not without feelings of remorse. Life for a life, Desi. Like I said.”

&^&

“Whoa.” Desi winced as she stood up.  
“Take it easy, you were almost killed by the cyanide. You'll need a lot of blood transfusions before you're completely okay.” MacGyver spoke and held on to her.

“It hasn't been that long, has it?” Desi frowned.  
“Only six hours, but you really need to recover. The human body really does not like Cyanide.” MacGyver spoke.

“I know that much.” Desi groaned. “Alright. I'll rest.”

&^&

A short time later, MacGyver was standing in the main meeting room. Everyone around him looked almost as tired as he was.

“Desi is feeling a little better, but she's not going to be in fighting condition for a long time. She almost died.” MacGyver frowned.

“The problem I have is dealing with Riley being a bad guy. I'm still having a hard time coming to grips with this.” Jack spoke.

“Same here.” Bozer spoke. “She played everyone better than the CIA could ever train someone.”

“Yes, she did. The threat she poses is unprecedented.” Matilda spoke.

“”Desi and Murdoc did seriously injure her, but she came back from it, and she did brag that the only way to kill her is to detonate a nuclear bomb right next to her.” MacGyver frowned. “Which is only the fifth strangest thing I've heard in the last 72 hours.”

“Well, thankfully, that is off the table unless we decide to trick her into some old abandoned coal mine.” Russ spoke.

“I mean, that would be the only safe place to detonate a nuke, to be honest.” MacGyver spoke.

“Well. This is interesting.” Riley spoke as she showed up on the monitor.

“Stop that.” Russ winced.  
“No, I'm evil.” Riley grinned. “Look, I've adapted myself, so don't try the same trick twice.” 

“I left my SDI laser control unit at home.” Matilda spoke.  
Riley grinned. “We both know the SDI project never went anywhere, Mattie.” 

“Regardless, what do you want this time?” Matilda frowned.

“Nothing much. I just wanted to see what kind of stuff you were planning this time.” Riley grinned.

“You killed Murdoc.” MacGyver spoke firmly.

“Yes, but if anyone deserved to die, it's him.” Riley spoke.  
“That's not...” Bozer winced.

“Look, all my plans got foiled before, but things are finally looking up for me.” Riley spoke.  
“We most certainly will stop your plans.” Russ spoke.

“Yes, yes, I know all the cliches. I've literally been around for all of them to develop.” Riley grinned.

“You're so grounded.” Jack grumbled.

Riley smirked. “Regardless, I hate how things had to play out, but I'll win against you in the end.”   
“Why are you evil? At least explain that.” MacGyver asked.

“If you must know, it's because I've seen how humanity works, I've been around for almost all of it after the Cavemen days.” Riley spoke. “I know that culling humans down to a small group is a needed thing. Once I do that, and control them, I can finally have a group of people that can help me bring back my civilization so to speak. We may not have been pure pacifists, but we never bothered with the savages, so to speak.” 

“How did Atlantis even get that kind of advancement?” MacGyver asked. “Because by all logic, that shouldn't be possible.”

“Honestly, I'm not certain. I mean, I wouldn't even rule out aliens, because I don't know how. We evolved 3000 years of technological progress in less than 1000 years. I never questioned how we had our knowledge.” Riley shrugged.

Bozer frowned. “Okay then. Look, Riley, all of this is completely insane.”

“I am aware.” Riley spoke. “You knew me a good person. Now you get to know the real me.”  
“I'd rather meet Herman Goering.” Bozer grumbled.

“Ouch.” Riley grinned. “The Nazis did try the old seduce me trick, but I saw through that. They really dropped the ball with everything they did.”

“While I am glad you have standards, and hate the Nazis, I doubt you hate them for the same reason everyone else does.” MacGyver winced.

“Don't presume to know me, Mac.” Riley spoke. “Culling humanity as a whole is not as bad as genocide.” 

“They're the same bloody thing!” Russ winced.   
Matilda winced but stayed silent.

“And one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter....but that's neither here nor there, Russ.” Riley smirked. “I've told you all, this is the real me.”

“Riley. Please.” MacGyver began.

“Don't worry. You're too important to my plans to kill.” Riley grinned.  
MacGyver winced. “Riley.” 

“I've said it before, and I mean it. My motivations are beyond your understanding.” Riley spoke. “Have fun you guys. Can't wait until our next encounter.”

She vanished from the computer screen and Russ sighed. “Let's meet somewhere else next time.”

“Good idea.” Bozer winced.  
“So, what the hell are we going to do about Riley?” Jack asked.

“Well, I'll go find an abandoned coal mine and buy it.” Russ spoke.

“I am not on board with any plan involving nuclear weapons, thank you. Even I can't disarm them.” MacGyver winced.

“Good point.” Matilda spoke. “Look, I don't like any plan involving nuclear explosives either, but we should try to prepare a plan for her, to stop her. I hate to suggest this, but since she is essentially unstoppable, I think the best way to slow her down, in order to capture her, is to use Sarin Gas.” 

“You want to use Sarin Gas on Riley?!” Jack winced.  
Bozer grimaced. “Come on, I know she's dangerous, but still.”

MacGyver winced. “While I have no doubts it will slow her down, and not kill her, that's a horrible thing to throw at her. She's going to be even more pissed off at us, and I don't feel like incurring her wrath is something I want.”

“I don't like the idea either.” Matilda frowned. “But since she's proven she's immune to normal bullets, an extremely toxic chemical weapon that will kill normal people in seconds might be the only way to slow her down.”

“I can't agree with this plan at all.” Jack winced.  
“She's responsible for more deaths than Hitler and Stalin combined, Jack.” Matilda spoke.

“Counting the amount of people she did kill with the Bubonic Plague, she was directly responsible for the death of one quarter of Europe at the time. That scaled to modern times makes her worse than Mao, which is not something I'd ever though I'd say about Riley.” MacGyver winced.

“Let me do it then.” Desi grumbled as she walked into the room, wincing and holding on to the door.  
“Desi.” MacGyver frowned. “Please. You need to stay here and recover. It will take weeks before you can fight.”

Desi winced. “She was our friend, and she turned out to be pure evil. There's no redemption here, Mac. She's not going to just stop and give up her plans. She has to be put away, and if the only way to even slow her down is to use Sarin Gas, then freaking use it.” 

“Mattie, please, you're killing me here.” MacGyver winced. “She's not worth doing that to.”

“No, I don't think she is at all.” A very eerie and familiar voice spoke and they all looked up at the monitor.  
“Patricia Thornton?!” Bozer blinked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I ended on a cliff hanger. :) I am so evil.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope people like this one. I don't know if I got Russ down right. MacGyver's really going to be hard to write, a scientific mind like his is going to short circuit. :P


End file.
